quinta-feira, 7 de outubro de 2010

OLMECS: The Olmecs established one of the oldest civilizations in the Americas



Thousands of years ago, in the borders between Mexico and the United States, the Olmecs founded a civilization that influenced the cultural formation of other peoples who inhabited the American space. Previously, this Mesoamerican location was summarized in the presence of some populations among the regions of swamp and mountain that dominated a rudimentary agriculture.
The development of the Olmec civilization, given after the period between 1500 and 1200 BC, was due to the improvement of these farming techniques, so they could overcome the hostility of the environment and sustain large populations. Within this framework of development, expansion of the occupied areas and the emergence of urban centers happened gradually.
The support of many of these urban centers, built in areas hit by severe floods and droughts occurred through the invention of a system of aqueducts that channeled the water to be consumed during the hottest periods. Moreover, we observe that the expansion of this civilization was also linked to the development of commercial activities, which joined several American regions.
The ancient town of San Lorenzo is considered one of the most significant poles radiators of Olmec people. Some research suggests that the process of developing of this city was thanks to the expanse of water resources. Moreover, it is believed that an elite had dominated politically the scene, having in mind the great amount of luxurious artefacts identified in the region.
One of the most prominent evidence of this material refinement of San Lorenzo attests to the existence of a large temple filled with large heads carved from basalt stone. Even today, no one knows what the exact meaning of these representations in the cultural Olmec context. However, the presence of visible Negroid traces back a possible and indecipherable African presence in the Americas.
The splendor and a high degree of development of San Lorenzo were losing its place between the years 950 and 900 BC. The sculptures had been vandalized and homes abandoned. Although no precise evidence on this episode of Olmec history, some historians suspect that an internal conflict had driven this stampede.
At the same time that San Lorenzo went into sharp decline, the city of La Venta became the most unifying center of the Olmec culture. By the 4th century BC, this city was very important to this civilization. After that, perhaps by the action of major climate change, this region was being uninhabited until the final extinction of the Olmec people.
Even with its demise and the limits of the artifacts found, the Olmec culture is impressive because many of its achievements. Recent excavations have described that this would have been the first people to create a written code in the entire Western world. Moreover, other speculations suggest the creation of a compass and the adoption of the number "zero" in the development of mathematical operations.

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